Quitting smoking after age 50 can still reduce heart attack risk by 40% after five years: study

For people over 50 who’ve tried to quit smoking but failed, a new German study may offer hope and motivation to finally kick their tobacco habit for good.

In a ground-breaking study of almost 9,000 people, aged 50-74, researchers from the German Cancer Research Centre found that habitual smokers who quite later in life were able to considerably improve their cardiovascular health in just a few years.

“Compared to individuals who continue smoking, the risk of myocardial infarction [heart attack] and stroke is reduced by more than 40% already within the first five years after the last cigarette,” said Carolin Gellert, the study’s first author.

Participants included those who have never suffered a heart attack or stroke prior to the start of the study. Geller worked with professor Herman Brenner and his colleagues to monitor the group’s health status for a period of 10 years.

The study, published in the European Journal of Epidemiology, also found that, compared to non-smokers, chronic smokers had double the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases such as hypertensive heart disease, heart failure and suffering from abnormalities of heart rhythm also known as cardiac dysrhythmias.